Corporate Membership

Corporate Support for NAMDRC, its Annual Educational Conference, and other Events and Initiatives

Background: NAMDRC prides itself on its role as a partner in the pulmonary community, a family of societies that includes groups such as the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Thoracic Society and other professional organizations. That community also includes corporate partners from the device, pharmaceutical and supplier industries. The primary conduit for communication and interchange with the NAMDRC leadership has been its Industry Advisory Committee (IAC), composed of companies that provide varied levels of financial support to NAMDRC.

Membership in the NAMDRC IAC has a range of benefits, with options for the format and content of interaction. Primarily for logistical reasons, much of the direct communication occurs at the NAMDRC Annual Educational Conference:

Private meetings with the NAMDRC Executive Committee and/or Board of Directors to discuss matters of common interest.

A private dinner of all IAC members and the NAMDRC Board of Directors

A private luncheon with the NAMDRC Board of Directors, followed by an IAC discussion of pending issues, with agenda established by IAC members.

Complimentary registration for the conference, for up to 4 attendees, including participation in all educational as well as social events.

Some IAC members ask NAMDRC to coordinate other activities, notably special focus groups or other tailored events to meet specific needs. These events may occur at the NAMDRC Annual Conference, but they also occur in other settings (ACCP, ATS, ACSM meetings, most commonly.) On occasion they have been structured as stand-alone events suited to IAC member needs.

Many partners in the pulmonary community have expressed concern regarding their ability to support NAMDRC initiatives because of growing concerns about direct support for educational conferences, especially those with physician CME credit. To address these and related concerns, the NAMDRC Executive Committee has restructured the pathways to membership in the Industry Advisory Committee:

Educational pathway: Similar to current participation, companies provide educational grants directly tied to the NAMDRC Annual Educational Conference. Our 2018 conference is scheduled for March 22-24 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA. This pathway requires companies to complete necessary forms related to the conference, in compliance with the entity granting CME credit to attendees. For 2018 this will be the American College of Chest Physicians.

Liaison pathway: Under this approach, companies can employ greater flexibility in their financial support of NAMDRC. While the actual fees associated with categories of membership in the the NAMDRC IAC are not changing, we have heard from numerous sponsors that the types of grants formerly used are no longer available. This pathway allows each company an option to use other resources within their policies to provide support for NAMDRC and still enjoy the same benefits that IAC membership has always afforded.